Use printWiFi To Turn Legacy Printers Into Wireless Printing Devices

November 25, 2014

You don’t use a printer all that much, but you still keep your ten-year old Epson around for those occasional situations when the need does come up. While printing everything from a PC hooked up to the printer is fine and all, wouldn’t you rather be able to access that decade-old inkjet via WiFi like many modern printers are equipped to do? The printWiFi allows you to do just that.

Made by ImageTech, it hooks up to an erstwhile legacy printer via USB, immediately giving it the ability to connect to your devices wirelessly. There’s no need to install any drivers, either, as printing is done through the accompanying app called printView. That way, you can make hardcopies of documents, pictures and other files directly from your phone and tablet, without having to transfer any content to a separate PC.

Measuring just 2 x 4 inches (w x l), printWiFi shouldn’t take up too much footprint on any desk, so you can keep it on the same station where the printer currently sits. The device creates its own WiFi hotspot separate from your local connection (up to 30 users can connect at any time), so any data you send goes directly to the printer, rather than the network. That means, you can hook this up to the printer at work and print your resume directly from a personal iPhone, leaving no trace of your professional indiscretions on the company network.

Do note, while it hooks up to the printer via WiFi, that connection is strictly for data purposes. Instead, you’ll need to use the microUSB port to connect it to a USB power source, like a power strip, wall outlet, or a computer.